Fried Plantains with Cinnamon

What are Plantains?

Plantains are the larger, starchier relatives of bananas and can be eaten at any stage of ripeness. However, if they’re unripe, they’ll be very starchy like a potato and need to be cooked (boiled, fried, grilled, etc). In other words, don’t expect them to be sweet!

If you’re willing to be patient and wait, plantains will eventually ripen and take on a sweeter flavor. The plantains I used had been sitting on my kitchen counter for almost 2 weeks. This is a very simple preparation, but one that’s incredibly tasty.

How to Make Fried Plantains

To make these Fried Plantains with Cinnamon, I used ghee to fry them in. Ghee has a really high smoke point, so it won’t burn over high heat. I slice the plantains into rounds, then fry each side in ghee until lightly golden brown. Watch these carefully because they’ll burn quickly. When they come off the heat, hit them with a little bit of cinnamon and sea salt.

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Comments

Mary in FLsays:

We keep our plantains until all the skin is black, then they are not as stiff. However, the softness lets us smoosh down each slice so we can fry them again. In other words, they get fried twice and caramelize on the outside. This makes them sweeter.

I do this all the time! Only I put the couple sprinkles of cinnamon into the oil and cook a few seconds until fragrant first (ala Indian cooking), and when feeling super indulgent, I sprinkle some homemade vanilla extract on towards the end of cooking. Tastes great & makes my house smell AWESOME. I keep thinking about buying chocolate chips to squish into the plantains while they’re cooking, but I’m pretty sure that way lies madness….

I’ve also done this with cardamom instead of cinnamon, and “gingerbread spice” – a 4:4:1 mix of cinnamon, ginger, and clove.

Also, I tend to do this at a lower heat, for longer. It’s a lot more forgiving that way – less likely to burn while I do other things like unload the dishwasher.

just made these with the coconut oil and put a half tsp of whole cardamom seeds in with the oil before adding the plantains. After cooking I cleansed the pan with a shot of Belizean rum (one barrel) and a squirt of agave syrup and put the plantains back in to coat them with the sweet and slightly sticky sauce- awesome!

That does sound amazing! If they are not all eaten, can they be stored in the fridge? Or would they be alright in a covered container on the counter? Mine were slightly tart still and too gooey, must not have been patient enough, they smelled wonderful cooking tho! Thanks for the recipe!

So good! Just fried up some plantains. I put some coconut butter on them. Yumm! Love your recipes/website. I am a runner, training for my eighth marathon. I developed arthritis in one of my knees and took a break from racing. Now I am trying out the paleo diet/low carb, cutting down on my sugar and wheat intake. My joint pain is lessening 🙂 keep up the good work with your website!

Dear Donna, Just a note, I gave up wheat, sugar and dairy and am full Paleo now and my arthritis disappeared. I thought I would have to give up parts of my life and now all is well!! Dairy was difficult to give up completely cause I love cheese but each and every time I cheat on myself I suffer. Read about dairy and arthritis, you may be surprised. Your body will thank you on full Paleo!!!! Pat

Had never tried plantains before. Am in love now! Fried mine in coconut oil. Once they were starting to brown I turned them and sprinkled them with a small amt of cinnamon, pure vanilla extract and coconut sugar. At the end I drizzled a bit of ghee in the pan which help them to caramelize. So yummy and a 1/2 plantain was more than enough.

My son and I likes pancakes every Saturday morning. So he gets the regular ones and I make myself plantain pancakes: – One plantain (ripe) – 1 egg – cinnamon – coconut oil to fry Makes 6 small pancakes, great with sugar free marmelade, maple syrup and honey

About Steph Gaudreau

Steph Gaudreau, BS, MA, NTP, is a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner and strength training expert helping women around the world trust themselves more deeply with food and exercise. Her latest book, The Core 4 is an Amazon #1 best-seller.